Heavest Gage Steel Or Aluminum Roofing

Metal roofing in 29 gauge is just too flimsy to be used in this application.

Heavest gage steel or aluminum roofing. Below i will share my thoughts on what sort of metal thickness or gauge is best for residential metal roofing. But aluminum is usually the lightest metal used for roofing. The largest corrugated roofing panel is our 7 8 structural corrugated a heavy duty 22 gauge panel that works well as a weathering steel metal roofing option. So which gauge do you need.

Manufacturers express the thickness of metal panels as their gauge with 22 gauge being the thickest and 29 gauge the thinnest of traditionally sold metal roof and wall panels. Its strength to weight ratio is among the highest of the common metals that s why airplane designers use aluminum for air frames. The heaviest residential steel roofing product weighs about 1 5 pounds per square foot according to the metal roofing alliance mra. While those who ask this are hoping for a simple answer such as only purchase 26 gauge the answer is never nearly that simple.

Steel roofing is very lightweight with the heaviest product weighing about 1 5 pounds per square foot when installed. A common question i receive from homeowners concerns what metal roofing guage they should purchase. Aluminum is the lighter material if weight is a critical factor in choosing a metal roofing material. This conversation starts with the gauge you should not use.

Keep in mind that the gauge of a metal gets higher as the metal gets thinner just like sewing needles. When you choose metal roofing for your project you need to decide which gauge thickness you need from the thinnest 29 gauge to heavy duty 22 gauge. The further the metal roofing has to span between each support than the heavier the gauge needs to be. Each gauge represents a nominal decimal range.

Metal roofing made for homes usually consists of steel or aluminum but copper zinc and other metals are used too. Aluminum roofing however can run 20 percent higher compared to steel roofing depending upon the exact product chosen. Both aluminum and steel are very light in comparison to other materials like asphalt shingles much to the surprise of homeowners. Aluminum residential metal roofing on the other hand is designated by the decimal thickness and ranges from 023 to 040 thickness.

A 22 gauge or 22ga metal roof might be nearly double the thickness of a 29 gauge 29ga metal roof. A unique corrugated metal roofing sheet option the 7 8 corrugated panel is also available in radiused options. The appropriate gauge ranges from as light as 26 gauge to as heavy as 20 gauge. Residential roofing is lightweight no matter what the gauge of the metal is.

Steel and aluminum both perform well as a metal roofing material.